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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor likely will start by taking your medical history and asking questions about your chest pain and other symptoms. As part of your initial evaluation, your doctor will also perform a thorough physical exam and check your heart sounds.
While listening to your heart, your doctor will place a stethoscope on your chest to check for the sounds characteristic of pericarditis, which are made when the pericardial layers rub against each other. This characteristic noise is called a pericardial rub.
Your doctor may have you undergo tests that can help determine whether you've had a heart attack, whether fluid has collected in the pericardial sac, or whether there are signs of inflammation. Your doctor may use blood tests to determine if a bacterial or other type of infection is present. You may also undergo one or more of the following diagnostic procedures:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG). In this test, patches with wires (electrodes) are attached to your skin to measure the electrical impulses given off by your heart. Impulses are recorded as waves displayed on a monitor or printed on paper. Certain ECG results may indicate pericarditis, while others could indicate a heart attack.
- Chest X-ray. With an X-ray of your chest, your doctor can study the size and shape of your heart. Images of your heart may show an enlarged heart if excess fluid has accumulated in the pericardium.
- Echocardiogram. This test uses high-frequency sound waves to create a picture of your heart and its structures, including fluid accumulation in the pericardium. Your doctor can view and analyze this image on a monitor.
- Computerized tomography (CT). This X-ray technique can produce more-detailed images of your heart and the pericardium than can conventional X-ray studies. CT scanning may also be performed to exclude other causes of acute chest pain, such as a blood clot in a lung artery (pulmonary embolus) or a tear in your aorta (aortic dissection).
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This technique uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create cross-sectional images of your heart that can reveal thickening or other changes in the pericardium.
- Pericardium and pericarditis. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4683. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Pericarditis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec07/ch078/ch078a.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Imazio M. Evaluation and management of acute pericarditis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Ferri F. Pericarditis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2009. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/128105427-3/821326688/1701/439.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04134-8..50019-7--subchapter19_9365. Accessed March 12, 2009.
- Acute pericarditis. In: Libby P, et al, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..X5001-8--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-4106-1&uniq=125954092#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4106-1..50073-X--cesec3%3Bfrom%3Dindex%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4106-1. Accessed March 12, 2009.
